This Long Beach Drift Run Is Almost Perfect

The Long Beach Grand Prix street circuit is most famous for its IMSA and IndyCar events held next weekend, but every year it also hosts a Formula Drift event the week before. That means a rare chance to see pros drift along a street circuit, where closer walls perfectly illustrate just how masterful drivers can be. On a good run, it is a dramatic visual. On a near-perfect run, it is like nothing else you will ever see.

Ryan Tuerck and his outrageous rear-wheel drive GR Corolla were given a 98.6 for this single-car qualifying run through the streets of Long Beach, the highest score of the day. The number pales in comparison to the actual footage, though. Tuerck is grazing nearly every wall at outrageous angles, at one point pulling off a masterful transition from one corner's exit into the entry of another and hitting both walls on the same short straightaway. That turns into a drift held all the way through the next corner, getting up to another wall before transitioning into a slide out of the track's signature final hairpin.

The masterpiece of a run was enough for Tuerck to lead qualifying for the weekend's events, putting him in the best possible position to win in the tandem drifting bracket. Tuerck qualified first and won on the GR Corolla's debut in this event last year, but that year's qualifying run scored just 93 points. That would also have been enough to lead qualifying again this year, but the 98 point run is certainly more satisfying.

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